I would like to save the world. That might be a little unrealistic for a research paper on consumer insights, but I don’t see any reason to play small ball at this point in the process. The following is an exploration of a potential paper topic…

Obesity is clearly one of the biggest threats facing American society, and the rest of the world is following in the deep footprints of our growing waistlines. The problems that obesity is causing in this country (and the rest of the world) are well-known; heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc., are all linked to being overweight. These are very expensive chronic diseases to treat and are a major contributing factor to rising health care costs in this country, although the cost of prevention is very low. You want to solve this country’s fiscal crisis? Start with the obesity epidemic.

I am interested in this topic for several reasons. I do feel that obesity is a big threat to our country’s physical, emotional and financial well-being, but I also absolutely love good food. My mother is a great cook, and spent most of her career in the catering business. When I was eight, she took me on catering jobs and I worked as a prep cook, and as soon as I was old enough to legally work she got me a job bussing tables at one of the nicest hotels in town. She certainly had to work late a lot and we ordered pizza so often the delivery people knew us by name, but when she was home she could walk into the kitchen and walk out fifteen minutes later with a fantastic meal.

I also love healthy food, although the definition of healthy has gotten a little bit murky. I generally fall in the Michael Pollan school of thought and believe that ‘food’ actually has a definition beyond being something you put in your mouth. Food should grow out of the ground, not be a science project. I often describe myself as a recreational dieter, and I have tried everything from the paleo diet to being a vegan. Now I am a true omnivore, but I care deeply about the quality of food I eat. Most importantly, I believe that eating home cooked meals with your family is emotionally important. It is not always practical, and I am no purist, but sitting at a table together is an extremely effective way for a family to connect.

The causes of the obesity epidemic are commonly thought to be increased caloric intake coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. They are both factors, but research by David Cutler and a group of Harvard economists point to the real cause being increased caloric intake. Cutler also asserts that the problem is an increased number of meals, not an increased number of calories at each meal. The basic idea here is that lowering in the cost of food, both in terms of money and preparation time, encourages people to eat more, and with Americans increasingly hectic schedules it is more efficient to purchase meals than to prepare them yourself. Of course ready-to-eat food, whether from a restaurant or processed food from a grocery store, is more calorically dense, which makes matters worse.

So, how do you reduce caloric intake? According to Harry Baltzer, a market researcher specializing in the food industry, the answer is simple: cooking. If you prepare all of your meals you eat fewer of them, and they tend to be healthier. When you prepare your own meals, you are more aware of what goes in them and, generally speaking, it is more work to prepare unhealthy food. Stopping by KFC on the way home is easy; breading and frying ten pieces of fried chicken and then cleaning up afterwards is a real hassle.

Michael Pollan has an interesting article on America’s changing relationship with cooking and quotes Harry Baltzer frequently. Baltzer’s view is that cooking is dead. I find that pretty depressing, although I have a hard time believing that he is wrong. After working in the music industry and watching it practically disintegrate because it wasn’t willing to accept a paradigm shift, I am acutely aware of the importance of accepting what is and not pretending things are what you want them to be. That said, I think there is a segment to serve here.

There are people who absolutely love to cook, and that small group will always prepare most of their own meals. There are people who really don’t care where there food comes from and, for the moment at least, we need to accept that. I want to focus on the people who care, but just don’t have the time to prepare all of their own meals. These are people who basically like to cook and understand the health benefits of eating well, but have demanding jobs, kids, and other activities that limit the time they have to spend preparing food.

Many businesses have started to look at this group and there are increasingly products and services designed for them. In grocery stores you see items such as pre-washed salad greens and pre-cut vegetables. There are also an increasing number of businesses specializing in healthy take-out meals designed to be taken home and reheated as well as grocery delivery businesses specializing in produce. However, I don’t get the sense that anybody has cracked the code for this consumer segment yet. They need convenience, but also real food. What is the balance? What does convenience mean for these people?

I want to understand who these people are, and what products and services they need to in order to start cooking and eating well at home. And I want to save the world.